Red Reflection
by TheHorologium
Summary: Devastated by her imprisonment by her own father, Weiss Schnee takes time to remember how she got here, and what kept her going all this time. Sometimes, all you need is a little courage. And sometimes, all that courage needs is something worth fighting for. One-shot, solo-focus. Light shipping.
1. The First Reflection

**I'm back!**

 **After a who-knows-how-long hiatus, I've returned! I've been meaning to write for so long...and it's a constant guilt knowing there are fics I've left unfinished.**

 **Of course I still love White Rose (as if I could ever stop!)**. **So here's a wonderfully gay solo-focus one-shot to kick off the new year. I hope it satisfies you!**

* * *

 _You're not going to corner me._

Weiss Schnee swept left graciously, fatally piercing an imaginary target with her trusty rapier Myrtenaster.

 _You're not going to cage me._

With a deft flick of her wrist, a shimmering glyph appeared beneath her feet - catapulting her forward towards nonexistent opponents. She perceived a clean strike through them all.

 _And you most certainly do, not, own me._

She spun on her heel and delivered a lethal thrust of the sword into thin air. To her own surprise, Weiss succumbed to her inner strife and fury, briefly granting herself the dark luxury of imagining the rapier cutting straight into Jacques Schnee - her own father.

It did not seem to disturb her as much as it perhaps should have.

The ex-heiress scowled at no-one, loosening her grip on Myrtenaster's handle. She set the ornate weapon down onto her bed, and stood motionless in the centre of her bedroom - overwhelmed by her own emotions. Anger, grief and fear mixed in her mind, and she clenched her fists at her sides in response.

 _So now I'm a prisoner in my own home, held by my own family. An inmate, hidden from the world. Stripped of my rights and my freedom._

 _Left to rot._

Momentarily, she felt the urge to lash out violently - to throw something at the wall, or smash one of the posts of her four-poster bed. Instead, she chose to save her energy. With a deep breath, Weiss crossed the room and approached the windowsill. Two objects decorated its surface.

The first was a fractured photo frame, depicting her father and herself stood together outside the grounds of Beacon Academy; her first day there. The damage had been dealt just minutes after her father had revoked her of heiress status and confined her to the premises. Not that she had ever liked the photo - Jacques Schnee did not look like a man joyous to send his daughter off to a highly prestigious school, with his characteristic absence of even a smirk.

 _He probably would have preferred Beacon if there were surveillance cameras watching my every move..._

Weiss shuddered at the thought.

On the other side of the windowsill was an object of actual importance to her. It stood silent and proud in the ghostly moonlight which crept through the window panes. The white-haired girl found herself smiling, and gently picked it up.

A chess piece. A golden knight - the artefact from her first day in the Emerald Forest initiation test. Weiss turned the knight over in her hand, examining its fine detail. It was a stunning gold colour, and on the bottom the letters _R+W_ had been carved.

Her partner had been the one to retrieve this trophy of sorts. And yet her partner had gifted it to Weiss so happily.

 _Ruby. Ruby Rose..._

The Schnee daughter could not contain a little grin as she thought back to her early days of being partnered with Ruby. Truth be told, she'd been pretty dreadful to the caped girl. Scolding her, distancing herself from her, telling her she couldn't be a leader. Weiss regretted it all - the one person who had shown her unconditional affection, and she had tried to push her away. The ex-heiress sighed.

 _I was the idiot, Ruby. You deserved much better than my low-class act._

In spite of their particularly frosty beginnings, the two huntresses had built up a closer bond and slowly learnt to work together. Shifting the chess piece in her fingers, Weiss sifted through more memories. Together, they had faced off against Roman Torchwick, they had thwarted the White Fang at Mountain Glenn, they had fought side by side in the Vytal Tournament...

 _And Beacon Tower._

She gripped the knight a little tighter, as if protecting it from being snatched away.

Few things truly frightened Weiss Schnee. But that terrible night - when Grimm, White Fang and droids had all descended to tear Beacon and Vale apart - had left her very much afraid.

 _I remember it better than I want to. Fighting through Grimm was easy. But what came after wasn't._

"I'm so sorry...Ruby..." she whispered to herself, catching a tear before it could fall down her pale cheek. Weiss had continually tormented herself with blame ever since that night.

Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to slip back into her memory and re-live those horrific moments once more.

* * *

 _Weiss Schnee put another boarbatusk out of its misery. Straightening herself, she turned to the sight of a flash of crimson - Ruby. The red huntress cut through another beowulf with a ferocious swing of her scythe, a trail of blood and rose petals behind her. Side by side, they seemed to have earned a brief moment of respite._

 _"We've gotta hurry!" Ruby shouted. She was right - Pyrrha was still up there, fighting Cinder alone. Weiss scrutinised the tower and remembered one of their oldest tricks in the book. With a swift flick of her sword, she cast a great line of silvery glyphs up the length of the tower._

 _"You can do this." she said confidently to her younger partner._

 _Without hesitation, Ruby Rose dashed upwards, defying gravity and ascending the structure. Weiss lingered for a few moments in fear for her partner - before rushing back into the fray._

 _Weariness began to take its toll, but Weiss wouldn't stop now. Not with so much at stake. And so, she kept fighting. With each slice and every pierce, she dwindled down the number of ravenous creatures which swarmed the grounds of the academy; though the battle seemed endless, as more and more poured in with a burning desire to bring the heiress down._

 _And then, the world seemed to end._

 _A blinding silver blanket of light shot out from the top of Beacon's tower - Grimm creatures died in an instant, or fled in sheer terror. From the top of the tower, Weiss heard only one sound: that of Ruby Rose, screaming._

 _The heiress froze, thinking only that Cinder had killed Ruby. Her Ruby._

 _"NO! RUBY!"_

 _Weiss sprinted towards the tower, casting glyphs upon the ground ready to launch herself upwards._

 _If Ruby was dead, Weiss was ready to kill Cinder single-handedly._

 _Whatever the cost._

 _Just as she prepared to leap, something grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. She kicked and screamed, elbowing at the presence holding her and trying to swing her rapier around to attack. Over the chaos happening at the top of the tower and her own anguish, she barely discerned the husky voice._

 _"Kid, it's alright, it's alright! She's fine, she's okay. She's going to be fine...she's not dead, she's fine..."_

 _The heiress continued to struggle against the restraint, dropping her sword, desperate to reach Ruby. But the fatigue of battle and struggling had worn her out to the point of complete exhaustion, and she felt her eyelids getting heavier. She could smell alcohol coming from the figure holding her back - Qrow Branwen, no doubt. Slowly she felt herself slipping out of consciousness bit by bit, but she fought on - with a last burst of energy, she wriggled out of his hold and grabbed Myrtenaster, stumbling forwards._

 _She had to reach Ruby. Just a few more steps and she'd be at the tower. Just a few more steps..._

 _Weiss Schnee collapsed onto the courtyard floor, and the rapier clattered down next to her. She panted for breath, looking up at the surge of light._

 _"Weiss, stop! You can stop, okay kid?! She's not dead. She's...Ruby's gonna be okay. Just relax kid, you did great...hey Oobleck! Take Miss Schnee back to the safe zone - I'm gonna grab Ruby! And hurry!"_

 _Professor Oobleck sped forward, kneeling to aid his student._

 _"Do not worry young Miss Schnee, I assure you: everything will be just fine! We'll get you somewhere safe!" Oobleck rattled off, preparing to carry Weiss._

 _"R...Ruby..."_

 _"I'm sorry my dear? I didn't quite catch what you s-"_

 _Weiss Schnee passed out._

* * *

The ex-heiress opened her cerulean eyes, and a tear escaped her notice and dropped onto the windowsill. Carefully, she set the knight back down. She hated that the past was a battle that one could not determine; what was done was done, and she could not change it with any swing of a sword. Her mind was swimming with what-if's and maybes.

If she had just gone up there with Ruby, maybe they could have beaten Cinder. Maybe they could have saved Pyrrha. Maybe she could have stopped Ruby from...from whatever had happened.

And now, she had not a clue as to where Ruby was in all of Remnant. Still at home in Patch? Unlikely. That red pest could barely keep still at the best of times.

Exploring somewhere, on some sort of quest? Finding the rest of team RWBY?

Alive?

Dead?

Her heart skipped a beat.

 _No._

 _If I think that way, I've already lost._

 _I can't be a prisoner any longer._

 _I lost you once, Ruby Rose. I can't lose you again._

With a stiff upper lip and a newfound fire in her heart, Weiss stopped staring longingly at the shattered moon and marched across her room, swiping Myrtenaster from the bed. She quickly refilled the rapier with fresh canisters of Dust, and wasted no time in dressing into her combat skirt. With a twirl, she faced the full length mirror in the corner of her room.

 _I have a real reason to get out of this damned castle now. Now I have a direction._

Weiss smirked, turning away and grabbing an old backpack from underneath her bed. She had always kept this in case she needed to run away from home as a kid - as she had often wanted to. Now it was going to be of great use. She stuffed the essentials one by one into the bag, with a renewed sense of invigoration.

 _I'm not just going to sit around moping_ , she thought, _I'm going to find my partner!_

 _There's nothing you can throw at me, Jacques Schnee, that will stop me. Your guards can't stop me, your giant armoured monster can't stop me, your little protege Whitley can't stop me..._

 _You cannot stop me._

 _Because I've got something I believe in. Someone who keeps me going._

 _My Ruby._

She took the golden knight artefact and slipped it into her pocket. It would make for a thoughtful gift when they reunited.

 _I lost you once, you dolt. And I will NOT lose you again!_

 _I'm coming to find you, Ruby Rose!_

Weiss beamed a rebellious smile.

Slinging the bag onto her back, she took the rapier in her left hand. Weiss was ready.

Her right hand cautiously gripped the bedroom door handle.

 _Alright. On the count of three, I'm coming to find you, you caped dork._

 _One..._

 _Two..._

 _Three!_

Weiss Schnee swung the door open - and sprinted.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Let me know what you thought with a review if you fancy!**

 **Also, if there's one of my old unfinished series that you're annoyed wasn't completed, let me know - I'm trying to get a gauge on whether anybody still had interest in those older fics.**

 **Otherwise, I'll be starting a brand new series (almost certainly WR-focused) once RWBY Volume 4 is finished!**

 **Ciao.**


	2. Fortress

**(Author's note: Thanks for tuning in to Red Reflection! People seemed to quite enjoy the story, although I found it was shorter than I'd realised - as reviews very rightly pointed out! In light of this, I'd like to continue with the story. Chapters will be about the same length, maybe a bit longer, but I'm hoping to write a few chapters overall and make it a series. Enjoy the second chapter!)**

* * *

Edward Peach liked his job in Atlas.

It was a very, very easy job. And the payout was phenomenal.

The task was simple; patrol the halls of the Schnee residence, make sure all is well. Truth be told, nothing ever happened out of the ordinary here. In fact, Edward spent most of his time talking to his fellow guard Verd. Occasionally, the two of them would take the liberty of stealing a couple items of food from the pantry. Nobody questions the guards, after all.

It was just another day of the week, another mindless conversation with Verd.

"So Peach, what I'm tryin' to say is..."

Peach sighed.

"No, Verd. Jacques Schnee will not pay you, of all people, to design any new weapons for hunters or huntresses. Or even for yourself."

"Aww c'mon, gimme a break! I've got the technical capability-"

"No you don't-"

"-and I've also got a fantastic idea to start from! Let me explain it again, Peach, 'cus clearly you didn't hear it the first time."

"Please. Please Verd. No. It sounds terrible."

Verd gestured incredulously with his arms. Peach rather wished he wouldn't; most especially since Verd, like any guard in the castle, was carrying a loaded rifle. But Edward Peach's friend would not be dissuaded.

"Okay. So imagine a lance, but it's a lance which can fire the sharp blade off the end like a giant bullet! Tell me that's not cool man!"

Peach sighed once more as they strolled side by side down yet another immaculate white hallway.

"So your plan, Verd, involves firing the tip of the lance at one's enemy. Okay, yeah, that would probably kill a Beowolf."

Verd beamed a toothy smile, as if he had proven his ingenuity.

"EXACTLY!"

Edward Peach silence his friend with a finger-on-lips gesture. Verd waited anxiously for the bombshell.

"Now, after firing the lance's tip, what you have is a lance without any sharp bit on the end..."

His friend stared blankly at him. Peach slapped his palm to his face.

"A pole, Verd. The weapon fires once and then you have a useless, blunt pole."

"It's not like that!" Verd protested. "You could...you could pick the blade up and put it back on the lance-"

"In the middle of battle?! Do you even think these things through Verd?! Oh sure, just run past that Boarbatusk and pick up your goofy lance tip..."

The two Schnee family guards had stopped in the intricately designed hallway, engrossed in their weapons debate, with each raising their voices ever more. Verd seemed adamant to prove that he was a potential world-class weapons designer; Peach was determined to instruct him that he was a low-ranking guard from Mistral.

Their argument was so intense that momentarily, the two of them failed to notice a bright silver object flash by them.

A full three seconds later, they realised.

"Hey, uhhh...Peach, was that...?"

Peach rolled his eyes and readied his rifle.

"Yes, yes it was you idiot! If you hadn't started this nonsense argument we wouldn't have been duped! Sound the alarm already!" Edward leaned in to his radio earpiece. "All guards, cover the exits to the castle! The target is making an escape attempt! I repeat: Weiss is on the loose! Go, go!"

* * *

 _Idiots_ , Weiss thought to herself with a smirk. She had slipped past the first two guards and vanished from the hallway before they had even so much as blinked. She'd be long gone by the time they rounded the corner.

She skidded around yet another corner, arriving at a grand, imposing lobby; the castle had four in total. Weiss vaulted straight over the banister, bypassing the great central staircase entirely. With a little help from a well-positioned glyph, she landed as gracefully as a cat - before speeding off down another hallway. Weiss began to ponder what kind of safeguards her father had put in place to prevent her from leaving; the man was egotistical and controlling. He would spare no expense in assuring that his bloodline did exactly as he dictated.

 _So probably quite a lot of obstacles to get through._

 _Fantastic._

By now, the Schnee family residence was not so deathly quiet anymore. The alarm had already been raised throughout the grounds of the castle. The sound of military boots thudding and the metallic clacks of rifles were echoing from distant hallways - Weiss knew she had limited time to break out before the hundred-strong Schnee household guard would have the entire place locked down like a real prison.

 _Remember why you're doing this. That should keep you going_.

As she rounded the next corner into a stone passageway, she gasped as she almost ran straight into a small group of guards, who hastily tried to pull their guns out to focus on the speeding ex-heiress.

"Hey, there she is! Miss Schnee, stand down now! We will return you to your room an-"

Weiss cast a thick sheet of ice at the troops, entrapping them and rendering them harmless. She zipped past them.

 _No, I will not be returning to my room, thank you very much._

There was the first difficulty in escaping the grounds; Weiss had absolutely no desire to permanently injure or kill any of the guards. They were just working for their hourly wage after all. Thus she had restricted herself to carefully neutralising guards, and using indirect means in order to evade them.

The second problem was the greater of the two.

 _This place is a maze!_

Seventeen years of growing up in these halls, and Weiss still found herself getting lost occasionally. She found the castle was rather like an ant's nest - a vast network of hallways connecting to even more hallways, incredibly vast in its complexity and disorientating to intruders. As it was, she had formulated a route to escape before she had left her bedroom - but in the heat of the moment she had taken a wrong turn a few corridors back. Now, she had to re-do her plan. The alabaster-haired girl hid behind a pillar, waited for a couple guards to run past oblivious - and discretely moved on.

 _My fastest option is still to exit through the East Wing. The trouble is getting through the kitchens on the way there...and the kitchens will be crawling with guards. I'll have to be real fast passing through there._

 _...Could really do to have borrowed your semblance right around now, Ruby._

Weiss sprinted into a large courtyard, decorated with a towering waterfall in its centre. Her next objective - the hallway entrance directly opposite her - was a mere fifty metres away.

But from behind the waterfall, a cruel surprise was unveiled.

Unfolding its clunky limbs and standing at full height, an Atlesian Paladin battlesuit blocked her access.

"What?! Are you kidding me?!" Weiss exclaimed. Surely, she thought, they wouldn't use a giant mechanised robot against her.

Its cannon began to glow.

 _Or maybe they would._

Weiss Schnee dived away from the ground as a gargantuan chunk of ice slammed into the cobblestone. She ducked for cover behind a stone column.

 _So they won't outright kill me. They just want to use my own trick against me - trap me in ice. Then drag me back inside to thaw out._

Time was running out as the Paladin drew closer to Weiss's position. She would not have cover for long.

 _Maybe I can use its own attack against it_...

It clicked in her head.

The Schnee daughter dashed out of cover, racing over to yet another stone pillar. Blasts of ice pounded the ground behind her as the Paladin marched after her. She just barely scrambled into safety as a hail of frost splattered into a nearby wall. With a sigh of relief, she steeled herself for her plan.

 _Okay, made it this far. Rinse and repeat._

She followed the same process again and again, moving from cover to cover whilst ensuring the Paladin didn't quite manage to hit her. With no sign of letting up, the Paladin relentlessly fired shot after shot towards her. Soon enough, the courtyard was coated with a layer of shimmering ice. Weiss took a few moments to catch her breath, and peaked her head around the marble statue she hid behind.

 _Now comes the hard part._

She cast a series of glyphs in a zig-zag pattern directly towards the behemoth, and launched herself a long them. As she accelerated towards the metal beast, it fired shots which virtually brushed her face - but incredibly, her speed triumphed. Weiss slipped right between the Paladin's legs and sped off behind it. She looked behind at the scene in her wake, and could not restrain a satisfied grin.

 _Perfect!_

The mech tried to spin around to follow her movement and keep its cannon fixed on her, but it moved too quickly; twisting around itself on the ice, the Paladin lost its grip and buckled, smashing down on to its side. It made desperate attempts to get back on its feet, but to no avail. It was certainly no threat now.

Her moments of glee was short-lived, however. Upon hearing the sound of more guards converging on the courtyard, Weiss departed with haste.

* * *

 _Well, there's no chance I can just sprint through here._

Weiss crept behind a storage crate and peered over. The situation did not look particularly hopeful.

The kitchens were absolutely full of guards. As if they had made this their temporary rally point, there seemed to be no end to the constant bustling of troops in and out of the area, all updating each other on known whereabouts of the Schnee daughter and strategies to find her and trap her.

Weiss couldn't sprint through even if she had tried. She would clearly end up running straight into several guards on her way through.

 _No, speed won't do. I need a little inspiration from my old faunus friend. A pinch of Blake's sneaky skills._

Blake Belladonna had always been able to pass through rooms unnoticed, if she wished to remain anonymous - just another face in the crowd. But Weiss Schnee was not Blake Belladonna, and those stealth skills were not at her disposal. However, there were a couple tricks that her teammate had passed on. They were the only tools at Weiss's disposal - it was now or never.

 _Alright, trick number one. Simple stuff. A distraction._

 _But what can I use to get their attention focused elsewhere?!_

She bit her lip, spending a few seconds to think.

A loud noise would do, or a bright illumination. Weiss looked down at the pouch on her side containing miniature Dust canisters.

 _Or how about a bit of both?_

With great care and in complete silence, she retrieved two canisters - one yellow, the other grey. With a strip of adhesive tape from her backpack, she attached the two together. The resulting combination was a volatile makeshift stun grenade.

She held her breath as one guard passed exceedingly close by. If the guard had looked down and to his right, nothing would have stopped him spotting her crouching behind the crate. Weiss's luck had held out once more.

 _I can't risk staying here any longer. Time to shake things up a bit._

Weiss poked her head up above the crate, analysing the situation.

 _Yes. Still a boatload of guards._

She spotted a prime spot on the far wall, and stretched her arm back, taking aim.

Weiss threw the canisters.

No guard spotted the device in the mere second it took to streak through the kitchens. However what they did hear was a tremendous explosion as it struck the wall, detonating into white hot fragments which spat onto the floor. The Dust ignited. The yellow Dust began to combust, unleashing miniature bolts of lightning in all directions from the wall, whilst the grey dust immediately dispersed into a hazy smoke screen seeping around the pantry.

Yells of panic and confusion erupted from the guards, believing themselves to be under attack from some kind of opposing force. They stumbled around, grabbing their rifles and searching the blast area for a target.

Weiss took the initiative.

 _Time for trick number two. The harder part._

Sprinting out of the kitchen would still not help her here. She would be immediately spotted, rendering the distraction utterly pointless and getting herself caught immediately. Instead, Weiss employed subtlety. She slowly rose to her feet as the guards faced the other way, and started to smoothly walk towards the exit without any sudden moves. The beauty of the trick was that by sauntering past them casually, Weiss did not truly 'appear' to the distracted guards in the corner of their eyes; in their peripheral vision, she was simply another figure wearing white moving about in the chaos. The huntress slipped by without a word, pacing backwards out and through the exit door.

With pronounced care, she closed the kitchen doors, and took a few deep breaths for extra measure.

 _I hope you know how much trouble I'm going through, little red._

She spun on her heel and walked with some haste towards the end of yet another imposing hallway. Rounding the corner, she found herself a little underwhelmed.

No guards. Nothing.

The East Wing lobby was right before her, a grandiose and whimsical room intended to woo guests as they entered the Schnee residence. It was a single demonstration of the family's vast wealth - from the sweeping central staircase down to the polished marble floor tiles arranged in mosaic patterns. A beautifully designed chandelier made of sparkling glass and thousands of tiny sapphires hung from the ceiling, suspended by a chain of pure silver. The East Wing alone was worth more than the average Vale family's entire household.

Cautiously, Weiss stepped down the staircase into the centre of the lobby. Through the stained glass windows high above, milky pale moonlight landed upon her and seemed to light a pathway to the door. Her freedom was right before her.

"That's quite far enough, Weiss."

 _Oh, that's just typical._

Weiss frowned with a slight sigh, and turned around to face the voice behind her. With a smug, haughty grin, Whitley Schnee stood curtly with his arms behind his back. Backing him up on either side were various guards - all with their rifles raised and pointed right at her. He approached her slowly until they stood just a foot apart. The ex-heiress resisted the urge to break the heir's nose.

 _And just how do I get out of this situation?!_

"Whitley. Shouldn't you be somewhere polishing father's new shoes with your tongue?" she quipped.

Her brother shrugged with a smile.

"Well, dear sister, father is away overseeing a particularly important Dust shipment - you'd have known that if you didn't spend all your time cooped up in your room!"

Weiss ignored the taunt. Whitley continued, pacing back and forth as if he were some conquering general from the Great War.

"As you can probably guess, in his absence, I am the custodian of this castle. Including all of his possessions." Whitley stopped to face Weiss directly, his face inches from hers. "That therefore includes you, sister."

"Get lost, Whitley. Go creep around the floral gardens with the rest of the insects!"

"A few insults won't save you now, Weiss. And neither will that barbaric weapon of yours." Whitley stared down at the rapier in her left hand. "Put it down."

 _Wait. I've got it!_

Weiss bit her lip, preventing a little smile from appearing on her face. She needed to buy a little time.

 _Whitley loves to run his mouth, and his ego is as inflated as a bouncy castle. It shouldn't be too hard to prolong the conversation._

"Fine. I surrender!" Weiss exclaimed. She threw both her hands upwards, with her rapier pointed directly upwards. Whitley raised an eyebrow, but leaned back a little, satisfied with his victory.

"...very well. I'm sure you'll understand that the arrangements of your being here will have to be updated, in light of your unsuccessful infraction. Change number one: your room will be modified to contain no items which could be wielded as a weapon. That includes Dust, your sword, any cutlery you own, and any movable furniture. Change number two: at least six guards will be present outside your room at any one time. Change number three: a surveillance camera will be installed inside your room, to monitor any possible future attempts at-"

"I can't believe you caught me," Weiss interrupted. "I guess you outsmarted me, Whitley. You surely must have had a very intelligent plan in mind!"

 _That's right. Just feeding the ego. Now take the bait, fishy._

Whitley paused, mouth momentarily agape. He raised his chin proudly and began pacing once more.

"Oh, it was almost too easy, sister. You were predictable. I had long anticipated that you would deem the North Wing exit to be far too well defended - and you would be correct. Your only other feasible option was here, through the East Wing. And so I merely gathered this team of guards, and we waited in the shadows for you to arrive here."

As his monologue continued, Weiss Schnee turned Myrenaster's revolving chamber clockwise as slowly as she possibly could. It settled on the red Dust setting, clicking into place.

"In truth, you had no chance of getting out of here, dear Weiss. All the possible exits were covered, even your window! Now if you'll come with me, we can get you back to your chambers and sort out this me-"

"You're really short, Whitley." Weiss interrupted once more. "It must hurt your neck looking up at everyone all the time."

Whitley scowled at her.

"A height joke. How unimaginative. Though I wouldn't expect much more from you."

"You should try looking up now. Just strain your neck a little bit."

Whitley scrutinised her in confusion.

"And just what does that mea-"

Weiss pulled the trigger on Myrtenaster.

A sudden _crack_ signalled the bolt of flames which erupted from the tip of the rapier, soaring straight upwards. The intense heat of the fire instantly burnt and severed the silver chain holding the chandelier above them. The great chandelier dropped straight towards them

"Move, MOVE!" Whitley screamed, as he and the guards scrambled away from the centre of the lobby. Weiss used a glyph to propel herself backwards, and dashed out of the great doors. The chandelier shattered upon the marble floor with an ear-splitting din whilst Whitley and his troops climbed to their feet disorientated.

Weiss was free. She stood in the outside world, with nothing left to hold her back. And yet, she could not resist giving a prompt and proper goodbye. Turning to face the inside one last time, she clicked Myrtenaster onto its white Dust setting.

"Hey, Whitley! Team RWBY sends its regards!"

Weiss launched a blast of ice at Whitley, leaving him trapped - and humiliated.

"FATHER WILL FIND YOU! I, WILL FIND YOU! GET BACK HERE NOW! I AM ORDERING YOU TO RETURN IMMEDIATELY! GUARDS, OPEN FIRE! TAKE HER DOWN! I ORDER YOU, TAKE, HER, DOWN!" her younger brother screamed without pause from inside the lobby of the castle.

In return, she performed a dutiful curtsy to her dear brother.

The ex-heiress span on her heel with a great smile and scarpered away, running ahead into the vast snowy forests of Atlas.

She disappeared from Whitley's sight.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed dear readers! Next part coming very soon - a day or two.**


	3. Breadcrumbs

**Welcome back. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

A mere three weeks had passed by since Weiss Schnee had defied her imprisonment and ran away, overcoming all which stood in her way and vanishing into the snowy pine forests which surrounded her ancestral home.

They had unquestionably been the most exhausting three weeks of her life.

Escaping to the coastline of the Solitas continent, upon which was the Kingdom of Atlas, had been a frantic struggle in its own right. Evading the occasional search party sent out by Whitley had been the easy part, and killing sporadic groups of Grimm wasn't particularly taxing. Surviving the elements had been a little trickier. Weiss was no stranger to the cold - she was Atlesian, after all - but a wicked blizzard had threatened to bring her down slowly. Fortunately, she had managed to find refuge in various inns along the way before succumbing to the ice and snow.

Then there had been the joy of living as a stowaway aboard an airship. A less than reputable way of getting back to Vale, but she had justified the petty crime of not buying a ticket as 'needs must'. She couldn't risk leaving a paper trail, or any kind of trail - lest her crony brother pinpoint her location in Remnant.

And so Weiss had spent a couple days hiding in the cargo hold of a bumbling airship.

It had hardly been the kind of transportation she was used to.

Arriving in Vale had hit her with the most immediate question; one that she cursed herself for not confronting long before she started this whole escapade.

She had not considered how exactly she would find Ruby Rose. The caped huntress could quite easily have been anywhere on the planet.

The island of Patch had been the most obvious destination to try. It was where she lived, of course - and Weiss would have been able to catch up with the injured Yang Xiao Long too. And so initially, she had spent three days heading down through the Kingdom of Vale, towards the west and ultimately towards Patch. That was right up until she had found herself in a bookstore in the bustling town of Lakemoor, where she had been casually drinking a coffee and perusing a newspaper. Something had caught her eye - and ever since, Weiss had been counting her lucky stars that she had bothered to read the news.

'Young Heroes Protect Defenseless Village' the article title had read.

A short segment on the second-to-last page, the newspaper had described how a band of four ex-Beacon students risked their lives to repel an influx of vicious Grimm creatures - and had succeeded in defending the village of Wishwillow. In her fatigue, Weiss had almost turned the page before scrutinising the accompanying black-and-white photograph just beside the text. Sure enough, and admittedly to her own delight, there she was in the picture - Ruby Rose, with that stupid toothy grin and 'peace' sign. Stood next to her were the members of Team JNPR.

All save for Pyrrha Nikos.

With the picture ripped out and stuffed in her coat pocket, Weiss had set off towards the village Ruby had saved - undoing days of progress and heading to the east of the kingdom instead. The ex-heiress had debated whether to visit Patch first - gather what information she could from Yang and Taiyang - but time was not on her side. Ruby could have been moving further across Remnant with each day, and Weiss had a vast distance to cover just to get anywhere close to where her rosy teammate might possibly be.

Finding Ruby was the the uppermost priority, above all else; even when she had other teammates to rendezvous with, and in defiance of whatever trials may come between her and her partner. Many months ago, she had made a promise to be Ruby's best teammate. And since that night, she felt she had come to owe more than just team loyalty. Weiss owed Ruby herself - to watch her back, always.

Weiss wanted to be more important to the young Miss Rose. Beyond duty, or upholding a promise, or any kind of social expectation. She wanted to be by her side, ready to face anything - always.

She wanted all of this for an unfamiliar reason that she could not yet understand.

Or for a reason she was too afraid to confront and acknowledge.

 _Focus._

 _Stay focused._

 _Can't think about...that. Not that there is a 'that'. Stop thinking there's a 'that', or anything._

 _Get out of my head._

 _It's just weariness getting to me. I've had a pretty rough time; no wonder my head is spinning._

 _Just got to concentrate on these scraps of information._

 _Come on Weiss, focus already!_

Passing from village to village, town to town, Weiss had gradually picked up a series of clues.

And it was today the she could finally produce a somewhat reliable lead. Sitting silently in the corner of some shady restaurant-bar in a grimy town, she began to piece together all the fragments of information she had collected - whilst keeping her head down and avoiding the attention of the bar's less-than-friendly patrons.

 _No more dilly-dallying or day-dreaming. Time to make a plan._

Weiss retrieved an eloquent fountain pen from her bag and sequentially marked each of the villages which Ruby and the others had saved on a map of Remnant. Carefully, she began to draw a delicate dashed line starting from Wishwillow and proceeding to the next settlement that had been saved. Brushing a few strands of her white hair out of her eye, she squinted at the map and continued to trace the line to each village that had reported being helped by Ruby, in chronological order. The line zig-zagged a little across the continent of Sanus - evidently, her goofy partner had not been particularly vigilant with her navigational skills, wherever she was headed.

 _You clumsy dunce,_ Weiss thought to herself with a smile. _I'm quite sure I taught you how to read a map once._

 _Or at least I did try..._

Eventually, the trace ended cold - directly next to a well-known port on the east coast of the continent. The were was only one logical destination that would involve travelling to a dock in the far east of Vale.

 _Mistral?_

Weiss pursed her lips, deep in thought.

 _Why Mistral? What possible reason could she have for going there?_

 _Is she saving more settlements? Going to Haven Academy? Looking for something in particular?_

 _What is it that don't know?_

 _What's the meaning of this journey, and where is she trying to-_

"Would the lady like a refill?"

Weiss gasped and dropped her fountain pen. The gravelly voice had startled her quite suddenly. Covering the map with her forearms, she craned her neck to look up at the burly bartender. The man had a surprisingly gentle face for such a commanding tone, and his friendly expression assured the young huntress that she was certainly not in imminent danger.

 _A pity that you have to live in this impecunious hovel of a town_ , Weiss thought.

"No thank you!" Weiss replied with a polite smile. "I'm heading out soon."

The bartender seemed taken aback.

"Surely you can't be serious, little lady? The sun's goin' down! There's worse things than Boarbatusks crawling around in this stinkin' town at night...trust me, find an inn. You'll thank me in the mornin'!"

"I assure you, I can take care of myself." Weiss asserted. "Besides, I have an urgent task at hand. Time...isn't exactly on my side."

He shook his head a little, looking rather deflated.

"Well, if you say so, but...you watch yourself ma'am. You watch yourself real good until you're far out of this place." he said, turning to head back to the bar.

"Thank you. I promise I will."

Truth be told, Weiss couldn't risk spending cash on the refill of her coffee, let alone staying in an inn when she didn't need to. Money was a real issue now that she was on the run; she had stuffed her backpack with as much spare lien as she had available before she left home, and it had kept her going so far. But it was a finite amount, and she couldn't risk trying to use her bank card to pull out more. Jacques and Whitley would undoubtedly locate her if she tried accessing the wealth in her account.

So Weiss was left living as frugal a lifestyle as possible. Only buying food when she felt the pang of hunger, and only staying in an inn when she truly reached the point of exhaustion.

In light of this, she realised that she could not spend time or money visiting every inn Mistral had to offer. She had to have _somewhere_ to start when she crossed the ocean.

"Excuse me! Uh, just a second sir!" she called out.

The bartender turned back around with a raised eyebrow.

"Mmhmm?"

"I was wondering...uhm..." Weiss paused momentarily.

 _How do I phrase this without it sounding profoundly weird?!_

She cleared her throat and continued.

"I was wondering if you had seen a...uh, well a girl. My...a close friend of mine. Young, roughly the same age as me. She would have been wearing a red cape...with a hood on the back. She...she would have been travelling with a trio of companions. Of the same age."

The bartender looked blankly at her.

Weiss sighed and attempted a new angle.

"She would have been carrying around a stupendously large scythe. And her voice is ridiculously high. Looks like...this." Weiss pulled out the old newspaper clipping showing Ruby stood next to Jaune, Nora and Ren.

The lofty man before her folded his arms and smirked.

"Well, this friend of yours sounds like a real character! I think I would have surely noticed a girl like that in my establishment. Nah, I'm afraid I can't help ya, little lady. Ain't never seen her."

He grimaced and strolled away.

 _I can't believe it._

 _I didn't travel this far to end up with nothing, in some forgotten garbage town in the middle of nowhere!_

 _How can I find Ruby now?!_

Weiss buried her face in her hands and sighed deeply. Fatigue had really worn her down over the course of her journey. The weight of her failure seemed to drag her down physically, and she sulkily gazed at the bustling goings-on of the bar.

Drinking. Just hordes of tired locals drinking their sorrows away, talking and squabbling about nothing and everything. Depressed and defeated, Weiss closed her eyes and considered falling asleep on the table. She had so little hope left with which to motivate herself to do anything.

 _Hang on._

 _Hang on just a second._

Weiss shot up, back straight, a new vigor in her.

 _Drinking. That's it._

 _Why didn't I say this earlier?! Stupid Weiss, you dolt!_

She scrambled out of her chair, rushing to the bar. The white-haired huntress stood out like a sore thumb, being so short even compared to the grizzled men who sat on bar stools either side of her.

"W-Wait! I need to ask you one more question!" she exclaimed loudly.

The bartender was busy serving his many expectant customers when he swiveled his head around to face the girl demanding his attention. With a slight roll of his eyes, he sauntered over and crossed his arms once more.

"Ma'am, I really cannot answer so many of your questions right at this time. I'm tryin' to make a livin' here an-"

"Just one last question, I swear!" she interjected. "It's about an adult man this time."

The bartender scoffed.

"Alright, alright...funnily I get a lot of those ones in my bar every night. What's he look like?"

"Black hair, red eyes. Husky voice. He's got stubble around his chin. He's quite tall - has a red cape too."

Upon no response, Weiss rolled her sapphire-coloured eyes and leaned in closer. She lowered her voice to a near whisper.

"The name is Qrow Branwen."

To her surprise, she was sure that some of the nearby chattering of the bar's patrons hushed upon her speaking the name.

The bartender raised his eyebrows briefly, before letting out a hearty laugh and slammed the bar with both of his beefy hands.

"QROW BRANWEN?! Ha! You bet your little white ponytail I know that man! Every time Qrow Branwen turns up in town, he drinks up half of my damn bar!" the bartender shook his head with a beaming smile. "Good for business, but terrible for stock! You know I have to order more whisky in advance of his visits? He's a crazy one, that Qrow...and some of his stories are completely nuts! This one time he was tellin' me-"

" _Please_ , sir! I need to know when you saw him! Where was he going? And did he say anything about a mission, or a job?" Weiss interrupted the man opposite her, exasperated. She did not intend to draw attention to herself - now, half the bar knew she was talking about Qrow. The bartender waved his hands and nodded.

"Yeah yeah, okay, sure, sorry 'bout that. Guy's a real character, y'know? Brings some interesting stories and such. Gets me laughin' with his whacky tales when he comes to town!" The bartender issued one last quick chuckle, before clearing his throat and continuing. "Yeah, uh, so Qrow...yeah, I saw him recently. Not even a couple weeks back I don't think. Said he was, uhh...man where did he say he was goin'? Oh yeah, Mistral! He's headed across the sea to Mistral!"

Weiss nodded; things were looking up. Qrow was headed to Mistral, just like Ruby.

 _Surely that can't be a coincidence. It's too suspicious..._

"As for what he's doin' in Mistral, I ain't got a clue I'm afraid. Didn't say nothin' to me about it. But I know who might be able to tell you."

Weiss pressed for the answer. "Yes? Who?"

"If your heart's set on trackin' down Qrow, you'll wanna speak to a guy called Maximilian Blackthorn. Just call him Max, the guy hates formality. Anyway, Max runs this cozy little tavern in Sparrowbrook - nice little village right near the coastline of Mistral - and it serves some of the finest whisky in all of Remnant. I'll betcha that Qrow stopped there at least for a quick drink...he always does. And when he drinks a lotta whisky, Qrow says more than he should. Max is your best bet for findin' ol' Branwen."

Weiss stepped back from the bar, processing the new information.

 _So I can't follow Ruby._

 _But I'll bet all the lien I've got left that he's following Ruby._

 _He got her down from Beacon tower. He wanted to keep her safe._

 _Just like me._

 _He can only keep her safe out in the wilderness of Mistral if he's shadowing her real close. Or already with her._

 _So if I can find Qrow..._

"Thank you very much for your help...I have to go. Now." she said. Checking her backpack was closed and that Myrtenaster was still at her hip, she turned about on her heel and strutted out of the bar swiftly, without so much as another whisper.

The bartender leaned back, entirely stunned by her abrupt departure.

"Hey, wait! You didn't finish all of your coffee ma'am!"

* * *

"The Ship is leaving in five minutes, madame. We advise that all passengers board immediately to avoid being left behind."

The polite voice behind Weiss distracted her from what had been a lengthy period of gazing out at the ocean, watching the tide bring in each new wave of froth and brine. The cool mist of seawater spray which brushed past her skin was well appreciated, given the rising heat of a particularly warm morning sun.

She turned to face the courteous crew-mate of the _Maria Esmeralda_ , the sleek cruise ship which would carry her to Mistral's west coast. The lady before her wore a smart white and gold uniform, complete with sailor's cap, and her violet hair was neatly tied in a bun.

"Oh! Thank you. I'll get aboard now." Weiss replied with a smile.

"Splendid! Do you have any luggage I can assist you with, Miss...?

The ex-heiress panicked.

"...Uh...Rose."

 _Oh my god._

 _I'm an absolute dunce._

"Miss Rose. I certainly don't mind helping you with your bag if you need-"

"No thank you," Weiss blurted out, "I'll be okay. See you later!"

The white-haired huntress made haste to escape the situation, speed-walking up the ramp and onto the _Maria Esmeralda_. She felt her cheeks turn bright red - and was thankful that the deck of the ship was currently empty enough that no-one would notice the embarrassment upon her face.

 _Miss ROSE?!_

 _What a stupid thing to say!_

 _Great job Weiss! Why not throw on a red cape and dye your hair brown?!_

As someone trying to conceal her identity and avoid association with the Schnee family name, Weiss had so far made constant use of aliases - a new false identity for each town she passed through. Perhaps the seaside air had clouded her judgement, she thought to herself; adopting the surname of her very own team-mate was hardly the definition of laying low.

 _Fingers crossed that Jacques and Whitley don't pick up on someone called Miss Rose travelling to Mistral._

A new member of the ship's crew approached her, clipboard in hand. This one looked more tired, rubbing his eyes and stroking his bushy mustache as he walked over.

"Okay, let's see here...we need to have everybody checked in. Name, please."

Weiss gulped.

 _Great. Now I have to keep the story consistent._

"...it's, uh...A-Amber. Amber Rose."

The man grunted, rapidly scribbled down the name - and sauntered away. Weiss found herself extremely grateful that Yang was not present; the blonde would probably never let Weiss forget the time she borrowed Ruby's surname.

The lone huntress leaned on the railing upon the deck, once more looking out into the deep blue sea. The early sunrise glittered golden patterns upon the shifting waves whilst fishing ships and yachts drifted gently through the water; the calls of seagulls competed against the noisy hustle and bustle of the harbor. In all, Weiss found it quite relaxing. In the moment of relative serenity, she took her backpack and withdrew the golden knight chess piece. Turning it in her hand as the sunlight glinted upon its surface, she couldn't help but occupy her mind with worry and dread at where Ruby Rose might be. Outside of the kingdoms was almost entirely wilderness; where lawlessness and the Grimm prevailed. Qrow could watch over her - but for how long? If he had to leave, who would be protecting her? What might Ruby have to fight alone?

Would Weiss reach her in time?

'Amber Rose' bit her lip and lowered her head.

 _I've got to cover a lot of ground quickly, the second I reach land._

 _How much time do I have before..._

She gripped the knight a little tighter, trying not to conjure the worst possible scenarios in her mind. Paranoia was starting to take its toll on Weiss, who had seldom slept in the last two days.

And she knew she should go below deck and get some sleep, immediately.

Instead Weiss chose to stare out at the horizon a little longer, a solitary thought occupying her weary mind.

 _Only an ocean and a continent between us now._

* * *

 **Thanks for reading :3**

 **Let me know if you liked. Next chapter in a couple days!**


	4. Raindrops in Oniyuri

**Welcome back! Sorry for the _ridiculously long_ delay - I've had university work keeping me busy. **

**Here's the fourth chapter of Red Reflection. Short-ish one, but the next will be along more swiftly (within this week).**

* * *

 _What kind of mayhem happened here?_

As a gentle rain washed across the rubble before her, Weiss found herself utterly lost as to what had befallen the town of Oniyuri.

 _This was supposed to be where I'd find Qrow, where I'd find all of them._

 _Where I'd find her._

Instead, she found herself cautiously stepping through a settlement reduced to ruin. Ornate, artistic architecture had been torn apart and fractured all around; not a single house or structure seemed to be left untouched by whatever destruction had descended on this place. There was certainly no sign of residency, though Weiss did not expect as much.

The last thing she needed was a dead end to her world-spanning quest to find her teammate. And yet, a dead end was exactly what she had been given.

There seemed to be no clear evidence to suggest that Ruby, her friends or even Qrow had been in this place.

To her left stood a derelict clock tower, tainted by various dents and scorch marks upon its surface. The front doors and part of the wall had collapsed, with the interior exposed to the elements; decaying leaves had gathered at the precipice of the former entrance. Clearly, this had once been a beautiful structure - a proud landmark of the town.

Not anymore.

 _Well, it's better than being out in this downpour._

Taking refuge within the old tower, Weiss slumped to the floor with a defeated sigh and leaned her head back against the stone wall. She stayed silent and still for several seconds, contemplating the misfortune she had suffered again and again in her journey.

 _Maybe I should never have left home._

 _Maybe I should have stayed in my room. Served the family._

She wearily slung her backpack around and opened up the zipper, retrieving a red apple. It was one of the few items of food she had remaining - and hunger was becoming more and more distracting to her, wearing her down.

Weiss bit into the fruit tentatively, staring at nothing as she searched her mind for ideas.

 _I need to find Qrow. He must still be guarding Ruby, surely._

 _But how?_

 _Where do I go from here?_

 _What do I do, when there's nothing to go on?!_

 _What am I supposed to do?!_

In frustration, she snapped - and slammed her clenched fist hard upon the cobblestone floor.

 _Why did I...?_

She recoiled her hand to her chest, a dull pain throbbing in her fingers which flushed red with inflammation.

Her own action surprised her - Weiss knew herself to not be prone to spontaneous outbursts of physical violence. It was not in her nature.

Clearly, she was more fatigued and desperate than she had noticed.

She took a couple deep breaths, restoring her calm and closing her eyes to focus.

 _I just have to think back. Use whatever information I've got._

 _If I can just remember what that Blackthorn guy said a week ago..._

Weiss exhaled, and slipped into a semiconscious trance - casting her mind back and recalling her recent memories upon arriving in Mistral.

* * *

 _"Don't be shy. Come on in. It's dreadful weather out there." said a well-spoken voice._

 _Weiss turned her head to see the innkeeper, a stout local man who beckoned her over with one hand whilst dusting a table with the other. His charcoal-black sideburns stretched nearly to his jawline, and his broad shoulders combined with his short height gave him the appearance of a fairytale dwarf. His polite tone did not match his appearance at all._

 _Maximilian Blackthorn._

 _"And don't just stand there the door open, please. You'll let all the cold in."_

 _Weiss nodded and hastily shut the door, approaching the sole man in the charming oak bar she found herself in._

 _"Sorry about that," she replied curtly, "I wasn't sure I'd found the right inn."_

 _Blackthorn raised his eyebrows, as he casually began polishing a pint glass._

 _"The right inn? That's a little suspicious, young lady. There's plenty of inns around the coastal regions of Mistral. And there's more than one inn in Sparrowbrook. What makes this one your...intended destination?"_

 _Weiss straightened herself, arms behind her back, posture perfect._

 _She was a girl on a mission, and she was going to act like it._

 _"You are Maximilian Blackthorn, correct?"_

 _He nodded hesitantly._

 _"Okay...good." Weiss marched confidently over to Blackthorn, careful not to sway her hand near the rapier on her hip, lest he think she was about to attack him. "My name is We-uh, Amber. I'm looking for Qrow - Qrow Branwen. I have reason to believe you've seen him recently and-"_

 _"No you're not." Blackthorn interrupted her. She paused in shock momentarily, unused to being challenged so quickly._

 _"Excuse you?"_

 _"You're not 'Amber'," he replied, not even looking at her. "You're someone called Weiss."_

 _Weiss's heart skipped a beat. Had she been compromised? Did her father and brother know she was here - had Blackthorn been hired to capture her?_

 _"...No. I'm not. I told you, my name is Amber and I need your help finding-"_

 _Blackthorn scoffed and set the pint glass down._

 _"You're Weiss. A Schnee, correct? Got a zippy little 'best friend' called Ruby?"_

 _The white-haired huntress felt the blood draining from her face, in some kind of mortal dread._

 _It felt wrong. Someone she didn't know happened to know her exact identity - and also knew about Ruby._

 _She especially disliked him saying Ruby's name. It sent chills down her spine - and Weiss could not shake the feeling of being afraid._

 _She cleared her throat and sent him an icy glare._

 _"Tell me how you know all of this. Now."_

 _Instinctively, she slowly moved her left hand closer to the handle of Myrtenaster._

 _"Easy, princess. Don't start a fight." came the reply. Blackthorn hefted a metallic crossbow from under the bar onto his shoulder; a wordless warning to the girl facing him._

 _Weiss raised Myrtenaster just a little higher in defiance._

 _"I've come this far, and I'm not letting you drag me back to Atlas. If it's a fight you want, then-"_

 _Blackthorn scoffed and held up a hand._

 _"Set your weapon down. I'm not affiliated with any Schnee, and I'm sure as hell not going to Atlas anytime soon."_

 _"I'm not open to trusting strangers right now," Weiss said flatly. "You know more about me than a stranger should. Everything points to you being a pawn of my father. How much did Jacques promise you in lien to hand me over?!"_

 _Blackthorn rolled his eyes and exhaled, frustrated._

 _"Listen. You're the stranger here. In my tavern, might I add. Even if your old man did give me an offer, I'm not interested in his dirty money. You wanted to know why I saw straight through your alias?"_

 _Weiss paused, and gave only the most hesitant nod she could._

 _"First of all, I had a visit from a certain patron of mine who-"_

 _"Qrow."_

 _Blackthorn looked surprised, but nodded and continued._

 _"That's the one. He got a few whiskies deep and decided to share his troubles with me all evening, as he always does. Seems to trust me with this kind of information. No idea why." Max Blackthorn grunted as he stowed his crossbow and leaned back against the wall, arms folded. Weiss cautiously returned her rapier to her hip. "Started talking about his niece. He does that a lot. This time he seemed...off. Nervous. Said he had to look after her, and that he couldn't stick around town for long. I suppose he was following her or something, because when she was here the day before-"_

 _Weiss suppressed a small gasp, strutting over to the bar._

 _"She was here? Ruby? Red cape, carries a scythe, would have been with some others?"_

 _The man before her shrugged his shoulders._

 _"Well, yeah. There was four of them, her and three other kids - what's your interest in it anyway?"_

 _The Schnee girl sighed with an air of impatience._

 _"Forget the rest of the story, where did she say she was going?!"_

 _Blackthorn narrowed his eyes._

 _"She didn't say, alright? And don't raise your tone - I'm doing you the favor, remember?"_

 _Weiss took a deep breath and restrained herself from delivering a classic Ice Queen put-down._

 _"Alright. Fine. Where did Qrow say he was headed to, if not Ruby?"_

 _"That's a little more like it, young lady. For your information, old Branwen did mention that he knew his niece was going to end up passing through Oniyuri, and that he'd have to be close by. Didn't seem to pleased about it, and I don't blame him. Oniyuri's a ghost town. Wouldn't go there myself...definitely not alone."_

 _Weiss Schnee paused for a few moments in contemplation._

 _"And I can reach Oniyuri just through signposts?"_

 _"Well...yeah, but like I said, it's a creepy abandoned town. The one and only Qrow Branwen didn't wanna go! Why the hell would you want to-"_

 _"Goodbye, Mr. Blackthorn."_

 _She turned about on her heel and dashed out of the tavern, leaving the stout barkeep confused._

 _"...Thanks for your patronage, madame." Maximilian Blackthorn dryly muttered behind her as she left._

* * *

Snapping out of the daydream, Weiss fluttered her cerulean eyes open. The biting chilly air swept into the clock tower; it was startling enough to prompt a shiver from Weiss, though only briefly.

Living in Atlas had long since taught the young huntress to dismiss the cold.

She stared outwards to the forests and mountains upon the horizon, bathed in sparse rays of grey light from the setting sun which crept through thick, looming clouds. As the light began to recede, shadows were beginning to advance across the land. Night would soon be upon the ruins of Oniyuri.

 _Soon I won't be able to search the area._

 _And there'll be Grimm to deal with._

 _Got to get up and carry on while I still have time._

 _Come on Weiss,_ she thought to herself.

 _Get up._

With weary legs and weary heart, Weiss Schnee stood up from the ground and quietly stepped back into the outside - not that she had had much respite from the elements inside anyway.

It was time for some detective work.

She sauntered along besides the skeletons of houses; once, these had been much more. They had been homes.

Now, fragments of glass and brick were scattered in chaotic patterns across the ground. Mementos of these previous lives were mixed in with the debris - among the debris, Weiss spotted cooking pots, children's toys and shattered furniture throughout the rubble. She paused to process the lives which had been torn apart. The livelihoods which had been forever changed, the children who would grow up without parents or siblings. The grief and sorrow which would last for so many lifetimes.

Something, or someone, had destroyed this paradise. Stripped it of its joy, stolen the light of its hopes and dreams, and left those who survived with only sadness and despair.

 _Just like what happened to Beacon. My real home._

 _Just like Team RWBY._

With each street she searched, the glimmer of hope within her waned a little more; nothing seemed to suggest that Ruby had even so much as passed through. Again and again, she walked down cobblestone roads to find that there was nothing distinctive or peculiar, outside of the various pieces of wreckage dispersed throughout the streets. Weiss began to worry that her eyes were too tired to find vital clues - that she was missing obvious breadcrumbs which could give her a trail to find Ruby.

Gently turning a corner into the town's courtyard, Weiss sauntered aimlessly towards its centre, staring longingly up at the ominous clouds overhead.

She felt something solid collide with the front of her boot.

Weiss looked down - and gasped suddenly.

A great scorpion stinger, mottled with what appeared to be droplets of a deep purple liquid, lay motionless at her feet. The purple stains collectively formed a barely discernible trail, leading away from her current position.

 _Perhaps come kind of wounded creature...or Grimm?_

In disgust, she hastily stepped backwards from the dismembered tail. Before her attention faded, a glint of light beckoned to the corner of her eye. She glanced down at the source of light.

A used sniper rifle cartridge, reflecting what little was left of the weak sunlight straining through the clouds.

 _Could it be_...?

With a heightened sense of urgency, Weiss cast dazzling glyphs across the ground, allowing her to dash around the courtyard rapidly in her search for more clues. To and fro, she swept across the centre of Oniyuri, squinting her eyes for even the smallest of potential clues. With much enthusiasm and determination, little time had passed before she skidded to a halt, hardly suppressing the smile which blossomed on her pale face.

An object both dampened and abandoned, it was the most elating sight Weiss had experienced in months.

Before her on the ground was a single, crimson magazine for a rifle.

One that Weiss recognised only too well as belonging to a certain Crescent Rose.

With an uncharacteristic burst of excitement, she knelt down and grabbed the magazine, fervently inspecting it for any further details which could aid her. Though she found nothing more, it was enough - enough to reignite her motivation, to keep moving forward.

 _It's a start,_ Weiss thought. She swiveled her head around to scrutinise the intermittent splotches of purple leading out of the town and into the wilderness. Ruby had fought something here, and yet neither she nor her opponent were to be found. The only certainty was that Ruby had left this place, along with the source of the strange coloured substance - blood or poison, Weiss could not discern - and that the only way to catch her partner was to follow the unnerving trail left behind.

Weiss exhaled and rose to her feet, surveying the journey which lay ahead. stretching out of the ruins and into the unknown. She pocketed Crescent Rose's magazine in a pouch on her hip. She did not know why.

 _And when I find you, I'm going to remind you not to leave litter on the floor, Ruby Rose._

* * *

 **Thanks for reading guys :)**

 **Next chapter will be _much_ sooner, I promise! Four/five days I expect.**

 **Let me know what you think, see you next time!**

 **\- H**


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